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Biomagnification of mercury in an Antarctic marine coastal food web

1998; Inter-Research; Volume: 169; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/meps169065

1616-1599

Roberto Bargagli, Fabrizio Monaci, Juan C. Sánchez‐Hernández, D. Cateni,

Mercury impact and mitigation studies

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 169:65-76 (1998) - doi:10.3354/meps169065 Biomagnification of mercury in an Antarctic marine coastal food web R. Bargagli*, F. Monaci, J. C. Sanchez-Hernandez, D. Cateni Department of Environmental Biology, University of Siena, Via delle Cerchia 3, I-53100 Siena, Italy *E-mail: bargagli@unisi.it ABSTRACT: Total Hg concentrations were determined in marine sediments and biota from the inner shelf of Terra Nova Bay (Antarctica). Like published data on air, snow and soils from the same region, Hg levels in the finest fraction of marine sediments were among the lowest ever reported for coastal marine environments (0.012 ± 0.007 µg g-1 dry wt). A progressive increase in Hg concentrations was found in organisms at different levels of the marine food web (phytoplankton < zooplankton and benthic primary consumers < detritivorous and opportunistic benthic invertebrates < epipelagic fish < demersal fish and plankton-feeding seabirds < fish-eating penguins < predatory birds and Weddell seal). In general, primary producers and consumers showed slightly lower Hg concentrations (0.076 ± 0.023 µg g-1 dry wt) than organisms of related species from other seas, but values in feathers (2.91 ± 1.93 µg g-1 dry wt) of the Antarctic skua and in tissues of a Weddell seal (44.0 and 24.0 µg g-1 dry wt in the liver and spleen, respectively) were similar to those in skuas and seals from the northern hemisphere. Trophic connections between organisms in well developed benthic communities, phytoplankton and fish and environmental factors such as enhanced upwelling of cold water, sea ice and low light are deemed to enhance natural biomagnification processes of Hg in the pristine Antarctic coastal environment. KEY WORDS: Mercury · Sediments · Coastal food web · Biomagnification · Ross Sea · Antarctica Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 169. Publication date: August 06, 1998 Print ISSN:0171-8630; Online ISSN:1616-1599 Copyright © 1998 Inter-Research.